This invention relates to a motor boat transom protector, and more particularly to a yieldable guard which can be configured to conform to the outline of the sternboard of a motor boat to isolate the sternboard from a motor mounted thereon.
Outboard marine motors are conventionally mounted on the transom of a boat via clamps including hand operated, threaded screws mounting relatively hard metal pads which bear against the inside surface of the transom. When the motor is to be mounted, the screws are unturned to retract the pads to positions removed from the sternboard permitting free movement of the pads relative to the sternboard. When the motor is properly positioned on the sternboard, the screws are turned to force the pads to bear against the transom surface and mar the finish. During use of the boat and motor, vibration will sometimes cause the threaded screws to partially unturn and thus move the pads out of snug engagement with the transom. The thus loosened, vibrating pads will sometimes scratch the transom surface.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel guard which will protect the transom from being marred by a motor mounted on the transom.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a motor boat transom guard including a pliable sheet of material having opposite end sections, and an intermediate sheet section, joined to the end section, urging the end sections to inoperative positions in which they lie in the same plane, but permitting movement thereof to the confronting positions in which they bear against the inner and outer surfaces of the transom.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a transom protector which will conform to the outline of transoms having differing thicknesses.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a guard of the type described including bend facilitating slits at the junction of the legs and the base to enhance bending movement of the legs relative to the base, to conform the guard to the shape of the transom.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a transom protector of the type described including mechanism for retaining the legs along opposite sides of the transom when the motor is being installed or removed.
If the motor and boat are subjected to substantial shock and vibration, as sometimes occurs, when the motor and boat are trailer-transported over long distances, for example, the screws unturn and the pads become loose from the transom. If the trailer which mounts the boat and motor negotiates a substantial bump in the road, the motor will sometimes be propelled off the transom. Likewisely, if the pads are not sufficiently secured to the transom when the boat is in the water and the submerged motor propeller strikes a submerged article, the motor will sometimes be forced upwardly off the transom and into the water. Accordingly, a further object of the present invention is to provide a transom protector of the type described which will inhibit inadvertent removal of the motor from the boat.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a motor boat transom protector of the type described which includes downwardly inwardly coverging surfaces against which the pads will bear.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a transom guard of the type described including internally projecting ribs which bear against the transom to inhibit sliding movement of the guard on the transom.
Other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art as the description thereof proceeds.